Apparatus for separating grain



Dec. 5, 1939. H. MJOL'SNESS 2,638 7 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GRAIN FiledFeb. 4, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 5, 1939. MJQLSNESS 2,182,638 I APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GRAIN Filed Feb. 4, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 5, 1939.H. MJOLSNESS APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GRAIN Filed Feb. 4, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 separator in which an indented of the cylinder in the same up bywhich is pivoted to swing Patented Dec. 5, 1939 1 APPARATUS FoaSEPARATING GRAIN Haakon Mjolsncss, MinneapolispMinn. ApplicationFebruary 4, 1935, SerialNo'. 4,892

7 Claims. (01. 209 95) the type of grain cylinder is driven, so as tohold the'grain pickedup by the indents to a certainpoint centrifugalforce; whereupon the grain is -drcpped into a trough supported in thecylinder. To permit the indented cylinder to be operated at the properspeed to accomplish the desired results in giving a most efficientseparation, I provide a means of lowering the banked grain in theindented cylinder below the trough. means may-includescrew feed meanswhich rotetes in the opposite direction to the rotation of the indentedcylinder and travels at a' much higher rate of speed.

My invention is directed to This conveyor.

"Figure 9 isan enlarged diagrammatic sec-- ticnal detail illustratingthe separating process.

Figure '10 is a vertical sectional view longitudinally through amodified form of cylinder The apparatus for carrying out my inventionincludes a novel type of retarder Which is actuated automatically by theforce of the grain and out of the path of the grain as it is'carriedalong the indented cylinder. This type of retarder obviates the type ofretarder in which a bank of grain must be built up sufficient to flowover the 'retarder to drop -hrough openings in the indented cylinder, orto ussthreugh a spoked Wheel or spider at the end of the cylinder. Thespatter'ing of the grain caused by the kernels dropping'into the spokesor the opening edges is thus eliminated.

These features are some of the outstanding characteristics of separatinggrain.

' To assist-in describing my method I'have shown certain diagrammaticillustrations to show the apparatus which may be employed in carryingout the method.

Figure l is a diagrammatic vertical section of a form of separator usedin carrying out my method.

Figure 2 illustrates the end of the separator illustrated in Figure l,on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of the separator on the iine -33 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, in the direction .ofthe arrows.

Figure dis a section on the line "5-5 of Fig- .ure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional detail similar to the section of Figure 5,excepting being of a different form of construction and is taken on theline of Figure 7.

Figuie ure 6.

Figure B is adiagrannnatic sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure'7 in the direction of my method and apparatus ior l is a section on theline 3-! of Fig- "separation will construction.

Figure 11 is a cross-section on the line li-H of Figure 10. v v

The apparatus for carrying out my high speed bedescribed inorder thatthe method may be better understood. The. grain is introduced oi'whichis formed With indents i l. 'is carried by these pockets to a pointabove the into a rotatable cylinder 1 ii the surface Small grain largergrains, permitting theseparation to take lace. Thistype of cylinder hasbeen used previous ly'; and the action is Well known in the art.

Ofiset to one side of the vertical axis of the cylinder iii, and nearthe inner surface thereof, is a rotatable conveyor'iii. This conveyoris50 positioned as'to normally be near the center of the bank of grainwithin thegcylinder as the cylin'der' lilrotates. A trough i3 ispositioned within the cylinder ill, mounted co-axial with the cy1infder,A conveyor it within frnountedon a shaft I 5 arms ill pivoted tobrackets on I thedischarge end of the cylinder iii,

the trough i3 is which also supports and rotates the cylinderill as willbe described.

"An adjustable retarder i6 is mounted to the trough i3. This retard'erIt comprises a pair of the trough near supporting an arcuated bearingmember ll against which grain may bearlto pivot the arrns ll. Openings'ifl in the cylinder ill permit grain passing beneath theraised'retarder it from the cylinder l0. V The conveyor 12 is mounted ona shaft it which may be supported to the trough by means of brackets 20secured to the trough. The brackto be I discharged ets 28 are positionedon the side of the trough iii bearing the longitudinal guard shelf 2: ofthe trough.

[I have shown my grain separating apparatus as a unitary separator Bmade up of superimposed iii units C, D and E. Each unit includes acylinder l9, and the relationship. of these cylinders may be seen inFigures 1, 2 and 3. Each cylinder is actuated by a central shaft iiiwhich shafts are connected together to operate the cylinders ill inunison by some suitable drive means such as is I illustrated in Figure30f the drawings; and in dicated as F. The ends of the shafts 55 arejournalled in bearings 23 supported by the frame of the separator B,which may be of any suitable design to enclose the cylinders ID.

The cylinder I is supported at one end by a spider wheel 24 throughwhich entering grain may pass into the cylinder III. This spider 24 iskeyed to the shaft I5, and acts to rotate the cylinder; The other end ofthe cylinder I6 is supported by a disc wheel or ring 25 having a bearinghub of relatively large diameter which rotates about a sleeve 26,supported by the frame of the separator, B. This hub 21 of the ring 25is provided with a ring gear- 28 on its outer surface adapted to engagewith a pinion on the shaft I9 to rotate the conveyor I2.

The trough I3 is rotatably adjustable in order to properly position thelongitudinal guard shelf to catch small or heavy grain, but to permitthe larger or lighter grains to fall back into the lower portion of thecylinder I Ii. The trough I3 merely rests for support upon the hub ofthe spider 24 at the inlet end of the cylinder Ill. At the other end 3!of the trough I3, the trough is formed into cylindrical shape andextends into the sleeve 26. An adjusting handle 35 is connected to thetrough I3 at this cylindrical end 3 I, and extends through an arcuatedslot 32 in the frame adjacent the outer end of the sleeve 26. The troughI3 may be rotatably adjusted about the shaft I by this handle 30.

As the conveyor I2 and the retarder I6 are both supported to the troughI3 in the form described, it is obvious that adjustment of the troughrotatably about the shaft I5 acts to also rotatably adjust the positionof the conveyor I2 and the retarder I6. As in some installations thisadjustment of the conveyor I2 and the retarder 86 may be undesirable, Idisclose in Figures 6, '7 and 8 a slightly different form ofconstruction in which the conveyor I2 is not adjusted with the troughI3. In this construction, a ring shaped retarder 33 is provided whichacts to build up a bank of grain behind the same, so

that the grain leaving the cylinder must drop over this ring and passthrough the spoked wheel 34 supporting the discharge end of the cylinderIII.

As shown in Figure 6, the sleeve 35 upon which the spoked wheel 34 isjournalled is similar to the sleeve 26 but extends a greater distanceinto the cylinder III. A split ring 35 is clamped over this inwardlyextending end of the sleeve 35, and supports bearings for the shaft I9of the conveyor I2 and for a reinforcing tube or pipe 39 which extendsparallel to the conveyor I2 longitudinally of the cylinder ID, asdisclosed in Figure '7. Integral brackets 31 and 38 on the ring 36support the bearings for the conveyor I2 and the pipe 39.

The inlet end of the cylinder ID of this modifiecl type is shown inFigure 8. As shown in this figure, a bearing housing 40 is supportedfreely rotatable on the shaft I5, and contains gears 4| and 42. The gearM is mounted on, and rotates with, the shaft I5, while the gear 42 ismounted on the shaft IQ of the conveyor I2. The shaft I3 of the conveyorI2 and the pipe 39 extend through bearings 43 on the housing 40, thuspreventing any rotation of these members about the shaft I5.

In Figures and 11, I disclose still another form of construction inwhich the conveyor I2 is mounted in fixed relationship to the frame ofthe separator 13. In the inlet end of this separating cylinderconstruction, a sleeve 44 extends into the cylinder I6 from'the frame ofthe separator A p i ri g 1 en i es h i ner end of this sleeve, forming asupport for the inlet end of the conveyor shaft I9 of the conveyor I2. A

disc wheel or ring 46, journalled on this sleeve 44,

supports the inlet end of the cylinder III. The sleeve M at thedischarge end of this cylinder is similar to the sleeve 26, but extendsto a greater length into the cylinder. Similarly to the cohstructionshown in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings, the discharge end of thecylinder III is supported by means of a disc Wheel or rim 35 having anenlargedv hub 21 embodying'a ring gear 28, engageable with a pinion 29on the shaft I9 of the conveyor I2. The discharge end of the shaft I9 issupported by a bracket 48 on a split ring 49 encircling the inwardlyextending end of the sleeve 41. A second split ring 50 encircling theinwardly projecting end of the sleeve 4'! acts as a support for a pairof brackets 5| to which the arms II of the retarder I6 are pivoted. Asmay be seen in Figure 10, the cylinder it of this type must be driven byexternal means, such as a belt in the groove 52 at one end of thecylinder externally of the same.v

In the construction illustrated in Figures '10 and 11, the trough I3 isrotatably supported at either end by the inwardly extending sleeves 44and 4?. The sleeve 44 at the inlet end of the cylinder I6 is providedwith an opening 44' through which the grain may pass from the inletsleeve 44 to the bottom of the cylinder I0. A conveyor I4 on the end ofthe shaft I5 within the inlet sleeve 44 may be provided if desired toconvey grain to the opening 44'. In this modification, the trough I3 issplit as shown in Figures 10 and 11 in order that the trough may fitclosely about the shaft I5 between the conveyors I4 and I4.

In the operation of the separator B, the grain enters through the inletchute 53, and passes through the spokes of the spider 24 to the insideof the cylinder III. The smaller grains are raised by the pockets II anddeposited into the trough I3 in the upper cylinder III. The grain fromthe upper trough I3 is conveyed into the chute 54 to the lowermostcylinder I0 of the unit E. Here a similar action takes place, the graindropping through the spokes of a spider 24 into the cylinder I6, whereincertain of the grains are deposited into the trough I3, and other grainsre- 'main in the cylinder Ill, passing beneath the retarder I6 and outof the openings I8. The grain in the lowermost trough I3 is conveyed bythe conveyor I4 into achute 55. The grain remaining in the uppermostcylinder I!) after the separation passes through the openings I8 in theupper cylinder after raising the retarder I6, and drops down into theinlet chute 56 of the central cylinder. through the spider 24 of thiscylinder. is separated, and is expelled, one grain dropping through theopenings I8 into the trough 51 where it is conveyed to one side by theconveyor 58, and the other grain being conveyed from the trough I3 inthis cylinder and into the chute 59.

The cylinders are designedso that when the cylinder I6 is seventeeninches in diameter and travels at 60 R. P. the conveyor I2 travels atabout 186 R. P. M. While the applicant does not desire to limit himselfto those speeds, they have been stated to illustrate that theapplicant's separating cylinders I6 travel at a much higher speed thanhas been previously practical. Thus for the first time, centrifugalforce plays an important part in the operation of an indented cylinder.

From the chute 56, the grain. passes- If no means were provided forlowering the bank of grain along one wall of the rotating cylinder I0,the bank would extend so high that separation would be impossible. Theextreme speed of the conveyor l2 holds the bank of grain to theapproximate level previously attained without the conveyor 12 when thecylinder l0 travels at a slow speed. By the use of the conveyor l2, theapplicants high speed separation of grains is possible, and centrifugalforce is put into use. The rotation of the conveyor I 2, acts to skimthe lighter grains from the top of the heavier grains -which naturallymove to the bottom of the grain bank. This skimming action further tendsto position the lighter grains on top of the heavier grains, as everyagitation of the grain tends to move the heavier grains to the bottom.

I have described the principles a'ndoperation of my apparatus for theseparation of grain, and while I have endeavored to setforth the bestembodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that this is onlyillustrative of my invention, and a means for carrying out the same, andthat obvious changes may be made within the scope of the followingclaims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination of, an indented cylinder rotatable, a separatingtrough extending longitudinally in said cylinder, a conveyor in saidtrough, a shaft for rotating said indented cylinder and said conveyor,means for adjusting said trough, a conveyor positioned in said cylinderbelow said trough, an automatically adjustable retarder at the dischargeend of said last conveyor, pivoted mounting means for said retardersupporting the same longitudinally swingable within said cylinder, andmeans for rotating said indented cylinder and said first conveyortogether while simultaneously rotating said second conveyor at a higherspeed and in the opposite direction to the rotation of said indentedcylinder to cause the rapid separation of grain banked longitudinally insaid indented cylinder in the path of operation of said second conveyorand banked endwise by said automatically adjustable retarder.

2. A grain separating device including, an indented rotatable cylinder,means for supporting said cylinder, means for introducing grain into oneend of said cylinder for the purpose of separating the same, aseparating trough and conveyor positioned in said cylinder, a spreadingand separating conveyor positioned in said cylinder, an automaticallyadjustable retarding means at the discharge end of said spreadingconveyor adjusted automatically by the flow of grain against the same,and means for rotating said indented cylinder in one direction andsimultaneously rotating said spreading conveyor in the oppositedirection in a manner to set up a counter-rotating frictional force inthe grain stream in said cylinder which causes said cylinder to elevateby receiving and holding some of the kernels of grain to carry them upto a separating position by centrifugal force, while the other grain isseparated by carrying it toward said retarder and out of said cylinderby the rapid operation of said spreading conveyor.

3. A separator for grains including, a rotatable cylinder, a troughwithin said cylinder for con taining separated grains, means for forcinggrain within said cylinder toward the discharge end thereof, and aretarder secured to said trough including a pair of hinged arms, pivotedto swing longitudinally of said cylinder, and an arcuated bearing plateon said arms in the path of grain forced toward the discharge end'of thecylinder engaged by grain forced toward the discharge end of thecylinder to swing the retarder to permit the passage of graintherebeneath.

4. A grain separator including, an indented cylinder, means for rotatingsaid cylinder, a conveyor within said cylinder for conveying grain inthe cylinder toward one end thereof, means for operating said conveyor,a longitudinally swingable retarder against which grain is forced bysaid conveyor, and a discharge'opening adjacent the retarder throughwhich grain passing said retarder may be discharged.

5. A grain separator including, an indented cylinder, a separatingtrough within said cylinder, means for rotating said cylinder to providea bank of grain along one side thereof, a conveyor in said cylinderadapted to extend into said bank of grain, means for operating saidconveyor to force grain from said bank toward one end of said cylinder,a longitudinally swingable retarder adjacent the end of said conveyoragainst which the grain from said bank is forced, said one end of thecylinder. forming a discharge end through which grain passing saidretarder may be automatically retarded before being discharged.

6. A separator for grains including, a rotatable cylinder, a trough insaid cylinder for receiving grain picked up by said cylinder, means forspreading out the grain longitudinally in said cylinder and forcing thegrain toward the discharge end thereof, and a retarder meansperipherally engageable with said cylinder swingably positioned in saidcylinder by action of the grain within said cylinder in a manner toprovide a means of retarding the grain at the discharge end of saidcylinder which is automatically adjustable in accordance with the flowof grain out of said cylinder.

7. The combination of, a grain separator cylinder means, means forfeeding grain into said cylinder separating means, a grain spreading andconveying means in said cylinder means, and an automatically adjustableretarder operated by the grain within said cylinder associated with thedischarge end of said conveyor adapted to automatically maintain apredetermined grain bank along said conveyor, said conveyor moving topermit the surplus grain to be discharged past said retarder and out ofthe separator cylinder means.

HAAKON MJOLSNESS.

